There are sold image forming apparatuses, especially multifunction machines, having a hard disk that a user can store files thereon to print out its contents when necessary.
In a case where a hard disk of such image forming apparatus is communal to many users, unnecessary files in the hard disk need to be deleted to avoid insufficiency in capacity.
JP No. 2004-199456-A discloses a configuration wherein a user schedules a date of file deletion when storing the file on a hard disk, and an email is sent to the user, when the set date of deletion is nearby, to inform the user of the date of deletion.
This configuration allows for extending a date of deletion if a user wants to extend it even if the user has forgotten the date of deletion.
Also, JP No. 2003-276272-A, discloses a configuration wherein an image forming apparatus displays a thumbnail of a document.
This configuration allows for easy verification of contents of a print target document before printing.
However, in a case of the above-mentioned JP No. 2004-199450-A, it can be bothersome for a user to set a date of deletion for each file. Furthermore, there can be left a lot of files without a date of deletion scheduled, because a user forgot to or because it is bothersome for a user to, frequently resulting in insufficiency in capacity of a hard disk or hindrance to an easy selection of necessary files. In addition, checking and deleting many unnecessary files will take a long time.
The invention of the above-mentioned JP No. 2003-276272-A is for the purpose of checking only one print target, when a memory card is inserted into an image forming apparatus, by displaying a thumbnail of a document stored in the memory card on a display panel of the image forming apparatus, but not for the purpose of readily and quickly checking and deleting many files on a hard disk in an image forming apparatus.